Warrensburg Fire Department

 

Section 1 – Agency Name

 

This paper will be produced using a word processing program. Microsoft Word is the preferred program. If you use a different word processing program, please save your document in the Rich Text Format (.rtf). This allows any word processor to read your file.

 

You should write in 10 or 12 font, using single space format. You may use any font style, but realize that if you use Courier (New), it just takes up lots of space. This implies you don’t have much to say! As you format your paper consider using 1” margins. If you use wider margins, it also appears that you don’t have much to say. This report should be approximately two pages in length, plus any references.

 

In this section, you should describe the agency visited. This description could include:

• A short history of the organization,
• Describe how the agency is organized, and
• Could describe the organization’s governance structure (i.e. municipal/county department, independent government agency governed by an elected board, etc).

If the agency has a website, you should visit that website, and then cite it in this report (IREM n.d.).

 

This section should be approximately half a page in length. There are 5 points available for this section

 

Section 2 – Use of NIMS in Daily Activities

 

During your visit, you should listen closely for descriptions of how this organization uses NIMS in its daily activities, or supports the NIMS process for other organizations. If the representatives of the organization do not describe their use of NIMS or how they fit into the federal NIMS process, you should be prepared to ask questions during the visit.

 

You can probably find online sources describing NIMS. For example, NIMS allows emergency responders to efficiently “respond to natural disasters and emergencies, including acts of terrorism” (SEMA 2014, para. 1). Your textbook will also be a useful source. According to Walsh, et al. (2012, 6), “NIMS integrates existing best practices into a consistent, nationwide, systematic approach to incident management.”

 

This section should be approximately half a page in length, and is worth 5 points.

 

Section 3 – Education/Training/Certifications Required for Employment

 

Your host has been asked to discuss the education, training, and/or certifications which might be required in order to be employed in this emergency management discipline. If you don’t hear your host speak about these issues, you should be prepared to ask questions.

 

As a CDM student, you will achieve an educational goal, a B.S. degree. Your faculty also expect you to graduate with certain training accomplishments, i.e. your IS-100 and IS-700 NIMS certificates. You should complete, and document, as much training as possible during your college career. Remember, you will be competing with your fellow classmates for a job following graduation! If you both have the same degree, how will you stand out to the interviewers?

 

Some positions will require specific certifications or licenses. For example, you may need to complete Firefighter I/II and hold an EMT license to be employed as a firefighter. Again, you should be prepared to ask questions if your host does not discuss this issue.

 

This section should be approximately half a page in length. There are 5 points possible for this section.

 

Section 4 – Career Assessment

 

As you reflect upon your visit to this emergency management organization, you should consider whether this discipline offers a career path you might consider for yourself. Please describe whether you could see yourself:

• Working for this organization, specifically, or
• Working for an organization in this emergency management discipline, or
• Working in this environment (office job/field work, solo/team member, pay, etc.).

As you write up your assessment on this discipline as a career, consider whether this discipline would present different challenges in a rural or urban setting. Describe which type of community you would choose for employment, and why. For this assessment, assume you could have any job you might apply for.

 

This section should be approximately half a page in length. There are 5 points possible for this section.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous (NOT included in report)

 

There are 30 points possible for this assignment. Your writing and citation skills are worth 10 points. You are expected to develop excellent writing skills while a student in this program. Take the time to edit your writing for maximum points.

 

Any recognized citation/reference system (APA, MLA, Chicago) will be accepted in this course. However, you should be consistent within any single paper, using only one citation style.

 

References (on 3^rd page)

 

Institute for Rural Emergency Management. No date. The Institute for Rural Emergency Management. Accessed January 6, 2014. http://www.ucmo.edu/irem/.

 

State Emergency Management Agency. 2014. NIMS/ICS Training. Accessed January 6, 2014. http://training.dps.mo.gov/trainingwebsite.nsf/LinksView/A6E72B5274D786E2862574F9006080A6?Opendocument.

 

Walsh, Donald W., Hank T. Christen, Jr., Christian E. Callsen, Jr., Geoffrey T. Miller, Paul M. Maniscalco, Graydon C. Lord, and Neal J. Dolan. National Incident Management System: Principles and Practice, 2^nd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.